


Scéal Saibhreachta

by Natanalien



Category: Faerie Folklore
Genre: Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Folklore, Gen, Irish Language, Superstition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natanalien/pseuds/Natanalien
Summary: A story of superstition, the Fae, and what happens when you leave your children unprotected.





	Scéal Saibhreachta

This is beginning to become almost more troublesome than it's worth, Aoibheann thought to themselves. And this fool mortal doesn't even know what she's doing! They had been for weeks attempting to swap the human Deoiridh’s healthy child with their own sickly one.  
“Planting a changeling was never this difficult before…” Aoibheann muttered disdainfully, watching the Scottish mother shearing one of the sheep while rocking her wee one by the fire with her foot. Aoibheann watched Deoiridh for a couple hours more before realising there would be no opportunity today. They retreated to their sídhe, vowing to return the next day.  
~~~  
And return the next day they did. And the next. And the next. And the next. Day after day they returned, each day providing no better luck than the one before it. Continuously, like clockwork, something stopped them from stealing away the child. Most days, it was the coat. The accursed coat, Aoibheann thought hatefully. As it was the warmer part of the year, Deoiridh left her coat inside when she was working with the sheep, turned out so as to dry the inner lining. When it wasn’t the coat, it was the shears. Long and heavy, made in the old way with iron instead of steel. When Deoiridh and he child slept, they rested against the cradle, preventing Aoibheann from even drawing near. During the day, the borders between the Tír nAill (1) and this world were closed, thus there was no getting around it.  
Aoibheann was beginning to lose hope, a feeling that was not common for them. The other aes sídhe(2) had begun to mock them for being unable to steal an unbelieving foreigners child. As if it was their fault that the human was doing everything possible, albeit unwittingly, to block them from taking the child. They needed a plan, a real plan, and they needed it quickly.  
~~~  
Luckily for Aoibheann, a plan was practically dropped in their lap one day while they visited one of their favourite pubs. They had been locked out of the human world, unsuccessful for the umpteenth time, and they needed a nice place to think of a new plan, aided by a nice glass of aqua vitae(3). As they mulled it over they happened to overhear one of the other aes sídhe talking about a difficult changeling they had. The solution they had come up with was to trick their human into thinking their cows were being stolen, and had snuck in to steal the child then. With that, Aoibheann quickly left the pub and went to work. There was a lot to do before next sunset.  
~~~  
Aoibheann grinned, wiping the sweat from their brow. Their masterpiece was complete. A skilled mixture of aes sídhe magicks and workmanship learned from watching humans, crafted from wood and yet able to move very convincingly as a human. They had affectionately named it Gaddy, after gadaí(4), their little thief. This time confident in their success, they brought their sick child with them. The set up Gaddy to run over the sídhe and past where the sheep were sleeping, making as much noise as possible. Aoibheann set themself up by the window, cradling the soon-to-be changeling, and muttered “Téigh anois, a chomhlíonadh do bhrí.”(5) This was the spell to start Gaddy. Gaddy began to creep over the sídhe and Deoiridh’s head jerked up, immediately focusing on the sound. She grabbed her coat, and quickly glanced around for a weapon with which to protect her flock. The shears, please grab the shears, Aoibheann urged mentally as Deoiridh considered a stout looking piece of firewood, YES! Deoiridh had forgone the firewood in favour of the shears. As Deoiridh rushed out of her home to defend her livelihood, Aoibheann slunk through the window towards the finally unprotected child.

**Author's Note:**

> (1) The Irish realm of the aes sídhe.  
> (2) A name for Irish Fae, meaning “people of the mound”  
> (3) An archaic term for a strong liquor.  
> (4) Gaelic for Thief.  
> (5) Translates to “Go now, to fulfill your meaning.”


End file.
